If you are new to poker, or to online poker, there are a few basic tips that, if kept in mind, will drastically improve your chances of success:

Keep It Simple Initially: Chances are, you will play lower limit games initially. In order to beat poor players here, you need to outplay poor opponents. This is far simpler than beating good players at higher limits. Unlike the good player, the poor player won’t pay attention to your cards. If you play a straightforward game (play tight, no fancy bluffs, bet aggressively when you probably have the best hand, and utilize pot odds for your drawing decisions), your chances of winning are good. Also remember that a starter level poor player is not thinking too deeply, so there is no point in attempting fancy plays.

Think and Evaluate: Unlike blackjack, there is no optimal strategy in every situation for poker. So remember that your online poker strategy will have to be situational, and not preplanned. Situational judgment skills come with practice and learning from your ‘trial and error’ efforts. Review your game after the event, see what you could have done differently, analyze why you erred, and internalize the lessons.

Learn from experience: One way to learn from experience is to check your opponents’ online poker hand histories that are displayed in some poker rooms. Since you can sometimes lose with the right moves and win with the wrong moves in poker, do not base your postmortem on your winning status. Rather, when you evaluate your plays at the poker table, focus on whether the move in question will be effective in the long run. This is because the luck evens out eventually, and good strategy will give you the most chips in the long run.

Remember that simply because you do well at one type of poker, it does not mean that will do well at other forms of poker. It is possible that a great ring game player is a bad tournament player. Keeping track of your poker statistics will let you analyze which form of poker you are best at.

Avoid Beginner Mistakes: Avoid beginner mistakes such as playing too many hands, playing above your bankroll, becoming very emotional, not using pot odds, using a two-color deck (instead of the better four), imitating other players, being superstitious, and overvaluing suited hands.

Tips about Tells: Pay attention to the in-turn buttons, as they provide important clues about your opponent. For instance, if the blinking light representing a player acts immediately, it is possible this player has clicked the box of an in-turn action.

Suppose your bet appears, but instantly the player next to you raises. What does this tell you about this player? It shows that the player is not keeping track of what you or the first player did – a sign of a poor player. How slow a player commonly acts on their hand also tells you a lot about the player. A consistently super-slow player is probably not paying attention to the game.

Multiple Games: Avoid playing multiple games simultaneously, because then you “miss” out on a lot of tells, and also cannot pay attention to details that can help you play a better game. Observe betting patterns – they reveal a lot about your opponent. For instance, people playing multiple games make huge amounts of bets, and this leads to repetitive behavior that forms a pattern. You can then have concrete clues about their holdings.

The ends of the curve: The normal distribution laws also apply to online poker tournaments. While most people are somewhere in the middle of the curve, there are the particularly bad, and the particularly good players, who fit into the ends of the curve. Make a mental note of these players; and also include your observation in the “Notes” feature, for easy future reference.

There are many types of online casinos at which you can play. Many of them incorporate Flash and Shockwave versions which can run in your browser, alternatively, most casinos offer a software download, this is free and results in better graphics and smoother gameplay. Some casinos also use Java-based games which again load straight into your web browser.

Generally, the type of casinos that just use Flash, Shockwave and or Java is referred to as no-download casinos. This is because you do not download and install software, however, you do download images and sound every time you play. One of the biggest advantages of no-download casinos is that you can access your casino account from any computer and most operating systems (i.e. you could play from work without having to install software).

The alternative is “downloadable” software that runs on windows based computers, the file size can be up to 15MB. This is generally a more stable and secure way to play.

Bonuses

One of the biggest advantages to gambling in online casinos are the bonuses that are available. There are a lot of casinos on the internet and there is a lot of competition between them. In the quest to sign players up the bonus money that they are giving away is getting higher and higher.

Some casinos provide free money as soon as you sign up so you can play the games with no committed money of your own. Others require you to make an initial deposit in order to receive the bonus money, it is worth researching the terms and conditions of the bonus money before you make a deposit. It is normal for the casino to stipulate that you must wager your deposit and bonus money 2 or 3 times before you can cash out.

The online casinos can offer these bonuses because their overheads are much lower than conventional “bricks and mortar” casinos. Online casinos don’t have the same building overheads and staff costs for a start.

Paying in money

There are many different methods you can use to manage the money in your online casino accounts. The most common ways to deposit are Visa and Mastercard, these are accepted along with most bank/debit cards at all major casinos.

You can, however, open an account with either Paypal of Firepay and tie your bank account to this online service. This generally makes transfers and cashing out faster and easier. There are many other services you can use including Neteller, Citadel, and many others. Most casinos have a preferred partner and they offer generous bonus money when you use that supplier.

Playing games online

All online casinos have a selection of table games, at the very least you will find blackjack, baccarat, and roulette. In addition, there are usually many other games such as Craps, Red Dog, Caribbean Stud even Casino War and Three Card Poker — sometimes the names used can be different.

You will also find hundreds, possibly thousands, of different slot machines the variety is incredible.

All games are pretty easy to pick up — usually just a click or two. Some casino games are multi-player, some are just single-player. If you need any help most casinos have excellent 24/7 customer support.

How safe are online casinos?

There are still some less than honest casino operators out there that are looking for a quick buck, don’t worry though you won’t find any on this site and they are certainly in the minority.

Gambling has been a controversial topic for many generations. The internet has presented the industry with a new almost unlimited medium to reach their prospective customers worldwide. Before starting to play in an online casino you should make sure you understand this topic.

The most widely accepted rule about online betting is that you are not allowed to do it unless you are of age. In most places, this means 18 unless specifically mentioned otherwise in your local national or state legislation.

There has been a consistent trend for the limitation and banning of gambling in most parts of the western world. In most places, they have managed to restrict them to very small areas with penalties and strict legislation.

One interesting fact is that the majority of online gamblers and the bulk of the profits come from Americans. However, almost no online casinos are registered in the United States. The US and most European nations give out no licenses for online gambling. One exception is the Indian territories such as the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake where the majority of American-based online gambling sites are hosted in. The rest of the sites are registered in countries like Gibraltar and Antigua where the local government easily gives away gambling licenses.casino roulette

If a site has a legitimate license in a foreign country the US government has no right to stop its citizens from playing on it. This is how online casino operators manage to navigate around the restrictions placed by authorities. Therefore, despite the fact that most national governments consider such sites illegal there is little they can do to stop them.

The new decade has seen a gradual lessening of the restrictions on this type of business. One such event has been the British Gambling Act of 2005 that allows licensed operators from the national government to operate online gambling, lottery, bingo and sport betting sites.